# Sailors rescued after five months adrift **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 27, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019 "2017-10-27T20:58:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/181 "2017-11-01T23:01:06Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Ah, makes sense. The initial report I read (may be unreliable), was that she swam to the fishing boat after they started towing them, because their boat was getting damaged in the process. Well, really, I’d probably want to take my chances on a damaged sailboat than stay on a Taiwanese fishing boat, too. 😛 > [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > If they weren’t just drifting all that time, what were they doing, and why would they conceal it? > [@snowthx](#): > > Motivation: Perhaps one of them wanted to be alone with the other for a long time. Just sayin’.😉 Hot, steamy, salty girl-on-girl (with maybe a dog now and then) action! 😉 Hey, International Waters. Anything goes… ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/182 "2017-11-01T23:55:35Z")
Only they weren’t salty. Whatever the exact opposite of salty be, they were beyond it. Lubberly does not begin to cover it. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/183 "2017-11-02T00:40:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > That… actually makes a frightening amount of sense. It explains why someone who supposedly has lots of experience would invite along someone who had no experience at all (and hence wouldn’t be able to spot inconsistencies), why she’d pack so much food, why they would fake emergencies when there weren’t, and why they wouldn’t call for help in any way. The (hypothetically) shanghaied woman no longer has any reason to keep quiet and play along, so I would hope any such misconduct would promptly come to light. In fact, landlubber that she is, she is still in an excellent position to reveal major facts like whether or not they encountered a huge storm or two, and she may have glanced at the GPS and charts and have some idea of the true course taken. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/184 "2017-11-02T02:03:10Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > The (hypothetically) shanghaied woman no longer has any reason to keep quiet and play along, so I would hope any such misconduct would promptly come to light. Many people have thought to wonder how many dogs there were when they started out, but someone should probably verify how many women there were too. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/185 "2017-11-02T02:43:44Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > The (hypothetically) shanghaied woman no longer has any reason to keep quiet and play along, so I would hope any such misconduct would promptly come to light. In fact, landlubber that she is, she is still in an excellent position to reveal major facts like whether or not they encountered a huge storm or two, and she may have glanced at the GPS and charts and have some idea of the true course taken. I’ll be very interested in hearing what Fuiava has to say once she’s able to speak on her own. But there certainly doesn’t seem to be any alienation between them in the interviews since their rescue. They mention some friction on the trip, which the presence of the dogs helped to moderate. As mentioned up thread, they apparently only knew each other for a week before leaving on the voyage. Fuiava was a security guard at the boatyard where Appel was working on the boat. ---
**Author:** ![Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/section_maker_jupe/32/1424_2.png) [@Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Section_Maker_Jupe)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/186 "2017-11-02T03:02:05Z")
haha!!! they probably docked the boat in some secret corner at the boat yard, pulled a tarp over the cockpit… fooled around with pakalolo and each other for a few weeks (months?), making plans, getting goofy under deck, new romance and all that… then decided to really go sailing…made it to wherever, a week or two out… and just called it a day. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/187 "2017-11-02T03:02:11Z")
The biggest thing that I find difficult to accept is that two people, one with no sailing experience, would think they could sail a boat that size 1600 miles in the open ocean. The largest sailboat I’ve been on is a 21 footer and I wouldn’t want to sail it on a 10 mile trip across a protected bay or inland lake on a nice calm day with only one other experienced crewmate. There is just too much that can go wrong and turn a pleasant trip into a life-threatening journey through hell. On a trip that long, someone could get sick, fall and break a bone (perhaps, if you’re lucky, just a sprain?). If someone (or, perhaps, one of the dogs) fell overboard, what then? No, I can’t see anyone with any sailing experience wanting to take that on, unless they were set-up and prepared to single-hand the whole trip. That someone with no experience would think it sounded like a good idea is just beyond belief. It wouldn’t surprise me if dead bodies weren’t involved, somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/189 "2017-11-02T14:33:16Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [Best write-up on this I’ve seen so far.](https://unreasonablydangerousonionrings.com/2017/10/31/19-reasons-this-survival-story-smells-fishy/) Pretty stupid blog piece. > [@](#): > > 1. Food > > These women were able to survive because they had vast stores of dry food on board —mainly oatmeal, pasta, and rice. I’m going to assume that they’re giving an incomplete picture of what they ate, because if that’s all they had they would have died. No question. The human body cannot live on carbs alone for five months, nor can the two dogs they had on board with them. Even ignoring the essential nutrients like vitamins, there are eight amino acids from protein and fats (11 for dogs) that the body cannot synthesize, without which you will die in a couple of months. Unfortunately, the Nazis performed just such an experiment, so we know this to be true. > > So I’ll assume they also had some Centrum Silver and canned sardines on board that they didn’t talk about that kept them from dying. What I’m more concerned about is how they didn’t just starve to death. Most of these claims have already been completely debunked upthread (e.g. they also ate nuts which are calorically dense and contain protein, n-6 essential fatty acids, and several other nutrients), but it’s possible to go months without eating _anything_: > **[Features of a successful therapeutic fast of 382 days' duration](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2495396/)** > > A 27-year-old male patient fasted under supervision for 382 days and has subsequently maintained his normal weight. Blood glucose concentrations around 30 mg/100 ml were recorded consistently during the last 8 months, although the patient was... ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/190 "2017-11-02T14:49:53Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > Pretty stupid blog piece. But Highly amusing! ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/191 "2017-11-02T14:51:34Z")
Neither of those women, nor the dogs, looked like they went months without eating anything. And that snarky bit in the blog didn’t negate the entire analysis. It will take a lot to convince me that this isn’t some kind of stunt. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/192 "2017-11-02T14:53:55Z")
Is there a detailed list of what they brought onboard food-wise? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/193 "2017-11-02T15:24:30Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Neither of those women, nor the dogs, looked like they went months without eating anything. 😕 I’m not aware of the sea hags ever claiming that they or their dogs didn’t have plenty to eat. This is perfectly consistent with them not looking like they went months without eating. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/194 "2017-11-02T15:27:56Z")
I was commenting on the statement that it’s possible to go months without eating… ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/195 "2017-11-02T15:42:38Z")
50 foot boat with one crew member and one passenger for a a two to three week trip-What happens if the only person that has even been out on such a vessel is injured r sick? What is the normal crew size for such a vessel for that long a trip? Why did they supposedly bring 4 to 6 times the normal amount of food? What the fuck happened to all the communication devices they had on board? I hope someone does a thorough inspection of them. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/196 "2017-11-02T15:49:41Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **DPRK** : > > The (hypothetically) shanghaied woman no longer has any reason to keep quiet and play along, so I would hope any such misconduct would promptly come to light. In fact, landlubber that she is, she is still in an excellent position to reveal major facts like whether or not they encountered a huge storm or two, and she may have glanced at the GPS and charts and have some idea of the true course taken. If she knows. Suppose that, a few days out from Hawaii, they encounter a _small_ storm. Not actually enough to be worth worrying about, but on a sailboat on the open ocean, it feels far worse than anything the landlubber has ever experienced. The more experienced woman, who’s the only one of the two who actually knows, tells her that it was a “level 11 storm”, or whatever. Does she have any reason to doubt that? Likewise, if the more experienced one tells the less experienced one that the mast is too damaged to sail, or that the engine is broken and unrepairable, or whatever. The less experienced one can’t know any better. If the more experienced one was lying, it might come out from experts examining the engine or mast or weather records or whatever, but it won’t come out from the other woman, at least until after the experts have already had their say. And even then, something like Munchausen’s Syndrome might still have her defending her captor. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/197 "2017-11-02T16:15:41Z")
Well, according to several sources there was a good reason for them to refuse rescue from the fishing vessel: > [@Denver Post](#): > > At some point, Appel joined the Hawai’i Actors Network, noting on the group’s website that she has “been known to do almost any skydiving or motorcycle stunt — camera optional.” Through the group, she found work as an extra in the former TV series “Off the Map” and the former sitcom “Cougar Town,” appearing in that show in a pink bikini in the background of a season finale. Maybe someone wanted publicity, and a rescue from a fishing boat just wouldn’t cut it? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/198 "2017-11-02T16:16:02Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > 50 foot boat with one crew member and one passenger for a a two to three week trip-What happens if the only person that has even been out on such a vessel is injured r sick? What is the normal crew size for such a vessel for that long a trip? > Why did they supposedly bring 4 to 6 times the normal amount of food? > What the fuck happened to all the communication devices they had on board? I hope someone does a thorough inspection of them. There is no “normal crew size”. It’s quite common for people to do [single handed passages](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=single+handed+sailing). I have not heard it reported, but my assumption is that the vessel was abandoned at sea after the were rescued. I doubt very much anyone will bother going through the expense of retrieving it, let alone doing a forensic analysis just to prove them to be liars. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/199 "2017-11-02T16:18:55Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > There is no “normal crew size”. It’s quite common for people to do [single handed passages](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=single+handed+sailing). I can’t do YouTube links at work-what size vessels were used in these voyages? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/200 "2017-11-02T16:21:03Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I have not heard it reported, but my assumption is that the vessel was abandoned at sea after the were rescued. I doubt very much anyone will bother going through the expense of retrieving it, let alone doing a forensic analysis just to prove them to be liars. They accused the fishing boat of striking their vessel and damaging it. That would be good enough reason to examine it. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019/201 "2017-11-02T16:37:46Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I can’t do YouTube links at work-what size vessels were used in these voyages? They vary so no standard to be had. Tania Ebai famously sailed around the world single alone in her 26 foot sloop when she was 18 y.o. Laura Dekker sailed single handed round the world in a 40 food ketch. That’s just two examples of many such voyages. Boats well over 50 feet are sailed and handled safely and effectively by a single person. I’ve sailed a 45 foot boat effectively alone. Once I’m out of the slip, I’m good to single hand most cruising type sailboats. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailors-rescued-after-five-months-adrift/800019.md?page=11)